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He was born in Hanover Township, New Jersey, on April 17, 1825. His father, Smith Ely Sr., was a leather merchant who had been a soldier in the War of 1812 and his paternal grandfather was Moses Ely, who fought under George Washington in the American Revolutionary War.[1] His maternal grandfather was Ambrose Kitchell.[2] His siblings lived together in their adulthood, including elder brother, Ambrose Kitchell Ely (1823–1907),[3] William Henry Ely (1829–1913) and his wife, Maria Josephine Rogers (d. 1924), Edwin Augustus Ely (1836–1927),[4][5] and Maria Louise Ely (1844–1922), who married George Burritt Vanderpoel (d. 1925).[6][1]

He studied in the law office of Frederic de Peyster,[2] and was admitted to the bar in 1845, but never practiced law. Instead, he engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York with Ely, Vanderpoel & Kitchell which was founded in 1868.[1] Like his father, he was a leather merchant in the Swamp district until the Leather Trust bought him out and he retired to his farm in New Jersey.[2]

He was active in various public offices including, School Commissioner for the 17th Ward from 1856 until 1860; a New York State Senator from 1858 and 1859; the New York County Supervisor from 1860–1870; and the Commissioner of Public Instruction in 1867.

From March 4, 1871, until March 3, 1873, he served as a Democratic Representative to the Forty-second Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1872, however he was again elected as a Representative to the Forty-fourth Congress serving from March 4, 1875, until the date of his resignation on December 11, 1876. While in Congress, he served as chairman of Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury. While in office, he gave a speech on July 29, 1876, regarding the method of manufacturing the circulating notes and securities of the Government.[8]

Following his resignation from Congress, Ely served as the Mayor of New York City from 1877 to 1878,[9] beating former New York Governor Gen. John Adams Dix by 55,000 votes.[2] In 1895, he was appointed commissioner of parks and served until 1897, when he retired from public life.

Ely, who never married, died on July 1, 1911, in Livingston, Essex County, New Jersey. He was interred in a private cemetery on his farm.[2] His estate, valued in excess of $1,000,000, was almost entirely left to charity, including $50,000 to a fund for juveniles to "help offending youths get a better start in the world," $100,000 to the American Sunday School, $100,000 to United Charities, as well as funds to Orange and Morristown Memorial Hospitals.[10] His bequests were in addition to the millions he gave away to charities during his lifetime.[10] His siblings also gave generously to charity upon their deaths.[11]

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